It was a warm homecoming for Sijo Jose, the Keralite who was released two days ago after being imprisoned by the United States Army in Iraq, on charges of taking photographs of a restricted area.

With relief writ large on their faces, his parents, K P Jose and Marykutty, elder brother Sohan and a host of relatives, who had gathered at the Nedumbassery airport, hugged and welcomed him as he arrived from Kuwait on Thursday morning.

Jose, belonging to Kaduthuruthy in Kottayam district, was arrested by the US Army in Iraq on August 1 on charges of transgressing into a prohibited area and taking pictures using a computerised camera.

Talking to reporters at the airport, Jose said he was in a US military camp for four months since his arrest but was treated well. He claimed that 'no charges of offence' were made against him and that he had taken only some photographs of his friends.

Jose said he would offer prayers at his native village before proceeding home. He had gone to Kuwait on July 23 last year as an employee of Tariq Alghanim Limited's catering division and was later posted at Iraq.